Fairy Tale
by TwilightPony21
Summary: Once upon a time and happily ever after...Callen and Kensi-style.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! It's been a very long time. As some of you may know, I haven't had much time to write lately, and my Callen/Kensi muse completely vanished for a while. So this is a short little story to try to get my muse going again. It's not meant to be anything spectacular, but if you like Callen/Kensi (I'm hoping a few of us still do?), I hope you'll like it. Thanks for reading, and please do leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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><p><strong>-I-<strong>

**_Once upon a time..._**

"_Hand me that half-inch socket wrench, would you, baby girl?"_

_Twelve-year-old Kensi Blye picked up a wrench from the toolbox and handed it underneath the car to her father._

_"You have fun over at Anna's today?" he asked._

_Kensi could hear him spinning the wrench around one of the bolts. "Yeah, Anna was all excited because we saw Jack and Chris at the basketball court."_

_"You guys play a pickup game?"_

_"Um, sort of."_

_"Kensi..." came the suspicious voice from beneath the car._

_"I'm fine, Dad."_

"_How about the other guy?"_

_Kensi heard a loud pop as the mechanism that her dad was tightening fell into place. Satisfied with his work, he slid out from under the car and stood up to grab the drink that rested on the nearby workbench._

_As soon as his back was turned, Kensi peered curiously under the hood._

_"Kensi Marie, don't you touch that carburetor."_

_Kensi froze. She looked over at her father and saw him grinning as he took a sip of his beer. She tried to smile, too, but instead winced in pain._

_Her father took a step forward and gently touched his daughter's bruised face. He sighed. He didn't have to ask for any further details._

_"What did I tell you about watching that temper, baby girl?" he warned. "How many times am I gonna hear from the other parents that my daughter has beaten up yet another boy?"_

_Kensi rolled her eyes. "But Dad, they're so mean to me. Especially Jack. He doesn't pick on Anna...just me. And Chris just laughs, because he likes Anna."_

_"Well, maybe Jack likes you."_

_Kensi was appalled by her father's suggestion. "He does not!" she insisted. "He makes fun of me, and he calls me names, and—" She pointed to her black eye. "And he did this."_

_"Sounds like Prince Charming, if you ask me." He tossed his daughter a beer can. "Here, put this on that shiner."_

_"He is _not _Prince Charming."_

_At the disgusted look on his daughter's face, with a cold beer can pressed against her black eye, Kensi's father could not help but laugh. He leaned back against the workbench, his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head in amusement. "Baby girl, some day you are going to find your prince. And he's gonna come sweep you off your feet and take you away to his castle...but not if you beat him up first."_

"_Dad, no prince is gonna come sweep me off my feet and take me away to any castle," Kensi muttered._

"_Yeah?" Her dad raised his eyebrows mischievously. "What if he picks you up in a sweet little sports car?"_

_Kensi grinned. "Well, now you're talking."_

_Her father held up the key. "Wanna see how she runs?"_

_Kensi's eyes lit up with delight. She eagerly grabbed the key and bounded into the front seat._

_And when she inserted the key in the ignition, the car's engine roared smoothly to life._

* * *

><p>"You bring doughnuts?"<p>

Callen obediently held up the paper bag.

Kensi grinned and slid into the passenger seat next to him in the sleek silver Aston Martin.

"How was Hawaii?"

"It was fine," Kensi replied, taking a large bite out of the sweet, powdered treat. "Mmmm, Deeks could so learn from you…what was it this time?"

"He was detained."

"Detained?"

"By Hetty."

"Oh, God."

"Something about being 'woefully behind' on his professional development."

"So she sent you to pick me up instead?"

"Why? You disappointed?"

"No, I—" Kensi stopped, and her voice suddenly softened. "No, not at all."

Kensi felt a small flutter in her stomach, and she didn't think it had to do with the doughnut she was eating. Trying to escape the odd, unsettled feeling, she turned to gaze out the window, and she and Callen fell into a companionable silence as he drove away from LAX and she munched thoughtfully on her doughnut.

As Callen turned onto the freeway, Kensi watched him slip on his sunglasses and accelerate the Aston Martin to a speed that was most definitely pushing the limit.

"Thanks for picking me up at the airport," she finally said.

It was only a quick glance from him, hidden behind his shades, but Kensi could still feel the intensity in his eyes, and it sent a warm, unfamiliar flush racing through her body.

"Any time, Kenz."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for all of your comments – it's great to hear from everybody, and I'm glad people still like Callen/Kensi. I guess you could call this story more of a collection of short vignettes, so you'll see a little bit of change in the timeframes between chapters. I hope everything still makes sense as you read, though. Thanks again!**

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><p><strong>-II-<strong>

_"You're going to be the belle of the ball," Anna squealed. "You and Jack...who would have__ thought?"_

_Kensi studied her reflection in the mirror. Her hair fell in soft, silky waves around her shoulders, and her long black dress was sleek and stunning, hugging her curves with silver accents in all the right places._

_"You think so?" she asked doubtfully._

_"Oh, Kensi, I know so. Look at yourself." Anna spun her best friend around in front of the mirror. "Just wait until Jack sees you in that dress. He won't know what hit him—"_

_Anna's excited chatter was interrupted by the doorbell, and she bounded to the door to answer it. Taking a deep breath, Kensi waited in anticipation as the door swung open to reveal a handsome young man standing on the front step._

_Jack smiled warmly at her. "Hi, princess."_

* * *

><p><em>With a strangled gasp, Kensi jolted awake on the couch in her living room.<em>

_"Jack?"_

_She could have sworn she heard his voice, the gentle tone of the boy she once knew and not the cold, harsh voice of the war-hardened soldier he had become._

_But as she found herself alone in the dark, empty room, crushed hope and sheer loneliness suddenly overwhelmed her. Kensi felt a chill run down her spine, and she wrapped herself tightly in a blanket as she rose from the couch. Brushing the curtain aside, she peeked out the window and saw Christmas lights sparkling up and down the street._

_But no sign of Jack._

_Her prince wasn't coming home._

_Because coming home to her was like hitting the ground._

* * *

><p>"It's an original," Hetty said proudly. "One of a kind, floor-length evening gown, made of the finest white satin, with a flattering cut and hand-embroidered sequins."<p>

Kensi slowly turned around in front of the mirror, admiring the way the dress twirled around her ankles. "Oh, Hetty, it's beautiful."

"Don't get any blood on it."

Kensi cringed. "Of course not."

"Mr. Callen will accompany you this evening," Hetty continued. "Mr. Hanna and Mr. Deeks will be covering surveillance on the perimeter. I don't need to tell you that these men are ruthless. If a U.S. Marine is indeed supplying their weapons—"

"Then we need to take out their supplier."

Hetty nodded. "Precisely. Camera?"

"Check." Kensi touched the diamond necklace around her neck.

"Wire?"

"Check." She jiggled the bracelet around her wrist that concealed the microphone.

"One more thing," Hetty said. She lifted a black SIG Sauer out of its case and handed it over.

Kensi hiked the dress up over her thigh and holstered the weapon. "Only an NCIS agent goes to a ball with a gun strapped underneath her dress," she muttered. "How do I look?"

"Feminine and deadly," Hetty assured her.

"Come on, Kenz, you're not ready yet? You take longer to get dressed than Sam."

Kensi heard Callen's voice on the other side of the dressing screen, and she quickly smoothed her dress and took one last glimpse in the mirror.

She looked over at Hetty, and the little lady smiled as she motioned towards the door. "Your prince awaits, my dear."


	3. Chapter 3

**-III-**

"_Next basket wins," Callen declared, dribbling the basketball in a zigzag pattern across the court._

"_No way, G-Man," Jason protested, blocking the younger boy's path to the basket. "You gotta win by at least two points."_

"_No way," Callen argued. "Next basket is champion of the world."_

_He dribbled around the perimeter, weighing his scoring options and keeping a close eye on his defender. Jason might have been older and bigger, but Callen was smaller and faster. In the blink of an eye, Callen darted for the basket, and with a fancy spin and an up-and-under layup move, the ball swished through the net._

"_Champion of the world!"_

"_All right, all right," Jason conceded. "You win. Come on, champion, you want to get us something to eat?"_

"_How about the loser gets us something to eat?"_

"_How about I don't give you a head start this time?"_

_As the two boys raced for the house, Jason tackled his foster brother and caught him in a friendly headlock, not letting go until they reached the front door._

"_Grab us some sodas?" Jason called._

"_Got it."_

"_And get some of those chips, too? The crispy ones, not the ones with those black things—"_

"_Okay, I got it!"_

_Callen skidded into the kitchen and stopped short as he found a large, burly man embracing a young woman against the refrigerator._

"_Oh, Mike…" She was moaning his name between kisses, and Mike seemed rather preoccupied with removing her clothing…until he noticed Callen._

"_Hey, kid, get out of here."_

_Callen didn't even have to smell his breath to know that his foster father was drunk again._

"_I just want to get some—"_

"_I said get out of here!"_

"_Sorry," Callen said, quietly backing away._ _He barely had time to blink as he saw the angry fist raised above him, and he braced himself for the blow._

"_Hey!"_

_Callen heard a loud thwack, and he opened his eyes to see Jason block the force of Mike's punch._

"_Lay off the G-Man," the older boy commanded._

_Mike's eyes flashed angrily. "You little son of a—"_

_Callen cringed as Mike's fist connected hard with Jason's jaw. He heard a sickening crack and saw the blood start running from his nose, as Mike socked the boy with a couple of nasty punches to the stomach._

_Jason fought back bravely, landing several well-aimed punches of his own, but Mike was bigger, stronger, and violently drunk. Somehow Jason managed to scramble down the hallway, and Mike would have gone after him if it weren't for the young woman hanging on his arm._

"_Mike, please, stop, just let him go," she pleaded._

_Mike growled angrily. "Sorry, just needed to teach that little brat a lesson—"_

_Callen didn't wait to hear the rest of the conversation. He fled from the kitchen and found Jason in the bathroom, wiping blood from his face._

"_Sorry, man," he said quietly._

_Jason shrugged. "Don't worry about it."_

"_Maybe if you don't tell them."_

"_Who? Child Services?" Jason snorted. "They'll find out about it…they always do."_

_Callen was silent. He knew what that meant. Another move. Another family. Another foster home._

"_What's gonna happen to Mike?" he finally asked._

_Jason shook his head. "Don't know."_

"_What's gonna happen to us?"_

"_Don't know that either."_

"_You know anything?" Callen asked, annoyed._

"_Yeah," Jason said seriously. "I know kids like us don't get a happily ever after."_

* * *

><p>"Kathryn Allen?"<p>

The woman who had opened the door looked startled. "Yes?"

"I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS. This is Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD. We'd like to talk to you about your fiancé, David Hunter."

"David?"

"He's a U.S. Marine who may be supplying weapons to terrorists," Kensi explained. "We need to know if you know anything about his whereabouts."

Kathryn nodded. "Come in," she said softly.

As Kensi and Deeks were seated on the couch, Kathryn sank down into a chair next to them. She already looked as if she would start sobbing at any moment.

"David left three days ago," she began. "He said he needed some time away. From me."

"Why would he say that?" Kensi asked.

"I—I don't know. He hasn't been the same since he got back from Iraq...he's quieter, more secretive. He never used to be this way."

"How long have you known him?" Deeks asked.

"We grew up together," Kathryn explained. "Played on the playground as children together, went to school together, until finally…"

"You fell in love with him," Kensi finished.

"Well, yes," Kathryn admitted. "But the war...it changed him so much." She couldn't hold her tears back any longer. "If you find him, please just tell him to come home."

"Thank you," Kensi said, rising abruptly from the couch. "We'll be in touch."

Without another word, she exited the room, leaving Deeks surprised that she had ended the interview so quickly. He hurried to catch up with his partner, and the two of them met Callen and Sam out on the street.

"She doesn't know anything," Kensi reported. "Hunter just left…didn't tell her anything, didn't leave anything behind."

"She has no idea where he might have gone?" Sam asked.

"No."

"So we've got a missing Marine who may or may not be supplying explosives to a group of terrorists planning to blow up Los Angeles. Got any idea what we're supposed to do about that?"

"We head back to Ops and see if Eric and Nell can track him," Callen declared. "Kenz, you good?"

Kensi was staring off into the distance and didn't seem to hear him.

"Kensi?"

"I'll, uh, meet you guys back there."

Without further explanation, Kensi disappeared down the street, leaving Callen, Sam, and Deeks staring after her retreating figure in confusion.

"What's up with Kensi?"

"Don't know," Deeks said. "She got weird as soon as she heard the girlfriend's story."

"Girl falls in love with Marine…Marine leaves girl," Sam realized. "Sound familiar?"

"Too familiar," Callen agreed.

"Hits a woman hard, I guess. All they want is for their knight in shining armor to ride in and sweep them off their feet."

There was an extended pause, and Callen glanced over at Sam. His partner was grinning knowingly.

Callen rolled his eyes. "Don't know how to ride."

"You could learn."

"Sam, I don't do fairy tales."

"Maybe Kensi does."

"This is Kensi we're talking about, right?"

Sam shrugged. "Every princess just wants to find her prince and live happily ever after."

"Okay, you know what? This conversation is over."


	4. Chapter 4

**-IV-**

"What do we got, Eric?"

"Facial recognition," the computer tech announced as he met Callen at the top of the stairs. "On some of the guys that you and Kensi were with at the ball last night. Thanks to Kensi's diamond cam, we got ID on three of them. Definitely terrorist arms dealers. They could have targeted Hunter and forced him to deliver the explosives."

"You get any hits on Hunter's car?"

"Not yet. I've got Kaleidoscope looking for it as we speak."

"And the girlfriend?"

"Kathryn Allen? She checks out."

"Okay, call me when you've got something on Hunter." Some loud voices and motion from below suddenly caught Callen's eye. "Any idea why Kensi is in Hetty's office?"

"Voluntarily?" Eric asked. "Uh, no."

As the computer tech disappeared back into Ops, Callen descended the stairs and made his way to Hetty's office just as Kensi was making her exit.

Callen looked over at Hetty curiously, and Hetty stared right back at him.

"Kensi okay?"

"Why do you ask, Mr. Callen?"

He shrugged. "Besides the fact that she just ran out of here, she did the same thing to Hunter's girlfriend today."

"I see. Well, Miss Blye is in need of some...training," Hetty explained.

"Training?" Callen repeated skeptically. "I would have thought that Kensi's already proven herself to be a capable agent."

"An agent," Hetty said calmly. "Is that all she is to you?"

She saw his jaw tighten almost imperceptibly.

And then their awkward silence was interrupted by a deafening crash from the gym.

Hetty rose from her chair and stepped up on her stool to reach her purse. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Callen, I must depart for a previous engagement this evening. If you would, please make sure that the gym is still standing when you leave."

Callen eyed the little lady suspiciously.

Hetty smiled. "Good night, Mr. Callen."

After Hetty had departed, Callen made his way to the gym, staying hidden in the shadows and watching the object of his thoughts take out some aggression on the punching bag.

As Callen's eyes traveled down her body, he swallowed hard. Kensi was wearing her usual tight black workout pants and gray racerback sports bra. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and a light sheen of sweat covered her skin as she pounded away on the punching bag. She finished with a nasty high kick that sent the bag careening towards the ceiling.

"Looking good," Callen said approvingly, emerging from the shadows.

"Took Sam down the other day, this bag has nothing on me," she shot back.

"Sam went easy on you."

Kensi scoffed. "Oh, please. He did not."

"You up for another round?" The words slipped out of Callen's mouth before he could stop them.

Kensi turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "With you?" she asked in disbelief.

"What? You don't think I can take you?"

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Don't go easy on me," she warned.

"I wouldn't think of it."

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Callen found himself flat on his back on the gym floor.<p>

Kensi hovered over him, holding him down with a firm hand on his chest. "You give up already?" she asked.

"Wouldn't that make it too easy?"

With a swift kick to the back of her knees, Callen swept Kensi off her feet, and she landed hard on her side next to him. He wrenched her arms behind her back, but somehow she managed to twist out of his grasp, flipping them both over and grabbing him in a headlock. As her arms wrapped around his throat, Callen easily hoisted her over his shoulders, sending her somersaulting into the ground.

Both of them scrambled to their feet, circling each other, and Callen attacked her with a flurry of punches, kicks, and hand-to-hand combat moves. But Kensi matched each one of his strikes with a block, not realizing that he was backing her further and further towards the wall.

As she found herself cornered against the hard surface, Kensi froze, and her eyes locked on his. There was a fiery intensity in Callen's eyes that she had never seen before, and she found herself suddenly unable to look away.

"Not bad, Agent Blye," he whispered.

Both of them panting from the physical exertion, Callen pinned her to the wall and his lips came crashing down on hers. Her lips were soft and tender, hungrily seeking his, and she couldn't help but gasp as his hands grazed her hips and brushed against the bare skin of her stomach.

In the next instant, Callen slammed her into the floor, the sheer force stunning her and allowing him to draw her arms above her head and cover her lips with his again. For a fleeting moment, Kensi allowed herself to become completely lost in the feel of his mouth against hers.

And then with a growl, she flipped him over on his back and straddled his hips.

"It's a tie," Callen declared.

Kensi rolled her eyes. "Why can't you boys ever admit defeat?"

"We can," he argued. "Just not when—"

But his words were lost as Kensi grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into another steamy kiss, leaving the two of them completely breathless.


	5. Chapter 5

**And so we have come to the final chapter. Thanks so much for all of your comments and alerts and favorites. I really appreciate it, as there was no way of knowing what my Callen/Kensi muse would come up with after so long. It's also great to know that there are still Callen/Kensi fans out there. Many thanks again for reading, and I hope you like the ending.**

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><p><strong>-V-<strong>

"Should she be in there alone with him?" Deeks asked worriedly.

"Easy there, Shaggy," Sam warned. "She hasn't said the distress word yet."

"Uh, yeah, '_fairy tale_'? How exactly is she gonna use that in a sentence?"

"She's okay," Callen said, although the way his eyes never left the building made Sam and Deeks think otherwise. "She's got him."

Inside an abandoned warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, Kensi stood in the doorway of a small room, surrounded by multiple clusters of explosives, with her weapon trained on her target. "David Hunter, look at me and get down on the ground."

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Special Agent Kensi Blye. NCIS."

"Stay away from me!"

"David, you do not want to do this."

"I have to," he said, his voice cracking. "You don't understand."

"David, Kathryn wouldn't want you to do this. All she wants is for you to come home to her."

"It's too late for us, Agent Blye. It's too late for me."

_Kenz, get out of there now_. She heard Callen's voice in her ear.

"I'm sorry," David whispered.

"No!" Kensi rapidly fired off a round of bullets, but it still wasn't fast enough.

David had closed his fingers around his trigger first, and the explosives ignited in a massive chain reaction, sending red hot flames and thick black smoke bursting into the air.

Kensi's bullets slammed into his shoulder a split second later, and as he crumpled to the ground, Kensi rushed forward and lifted him to his feet.

"Come on. Stay with me, Marine."

The walls began to shake, and the ground was already trembling beneath them. Kensi fought to keep her balance as she dragged David away from the flames, and she struggled to breathe in the aftermath of the explosion. The smoky air was sticky and stifling, and she wiped the tears from her eyes and the sweaty tendrils of hair from her face. Blindly, she pushed her way through the fire, coughing and sputtering and hissing in pain as sparks splashed on her skin.

As she desperately sought an escape, Kensi heard the crackling of another chain explosion behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke greedily consuming everything in its path.

At the last second, as the flames threatened to overtake her, Kensi hurled herself into a window, the sheer force of the explosion sending her and David crashing through the glass and tumbling hard to the ground outside.

Smoke billowed from the windows and burning embers plummeted from the ceiling, as the walls caved in and the entire building burst into flames behind them.

Kensi lay motionless on the ground, covered in dirt, shrapnel, and smoke residue, and she could feel something sticky trickling down her face. She couldn't tell if it was David's blood or her own.

With her last remaining bit of strength, she forced herself to her feet. And slowly, as the clouds of smoke began to clear, she emerged from the rubble, hauling a bleeding U.S. Marine over her shoulder.

"I got him, Kensi."

A strong, solid figure lifted David's weight away from her. _Sam_, Kensi thought hazily. She could hear sirens wailing in the distance, and she thought she heard someone directing LAPD and yelling for medical attention..._Deeks_.

"Kenz."

And then she vaguely registered the hand on her shoulder, and Callen's voice was the last thing she heard before she collapsed in his arms.

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><p>"I don't need you to babysit me."<p>

"I'm not babysitting you...I'm just trying to help out my partner."

"Well, your partner doesn't need you to drive her home, okay?"

Sam frowned as he watched Kensi limp into the bullpen, with Deeks following closely behind.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"See? Denial," Deeks proclaimed. "That's how I know you're not fine."

"I'm not denying anything."

"Sam, help me out here."

"Kensi," Sam said calmly. "You're hurt."

"I'm just a little bruised."

"Um, yeah, okay, you just jumped out of an exploding building," Deeks corrected. "You're a lot bruised."

"It was the ground floor, and I didn't jump."

"Oh, right. I forgot there's a difference between jumping and being blown out of a building."

Sam had to admit that Kensi didn't look like she was in any condition to drive anywhere. Reluctantly, he had to agree with her partner. "Kensi, maybe you should let Deeks—"

He suddenly fell silent as a diminutive figure came around the corner.

"Hetty, please tell my pigheaded partner here that she shouldn't drive herself home," Deeks pleaded. Then he shot Kensi a triumphant grin. There was no way that Kensi could defy Hetty.

"And why would I do that, Mr. Deeks?"

Deeks was stunned. "What?"

Hetty nodded at Kensi approvingly. "I believe that Miss Blye is capable of navigating a vehicle—"

"Hetty, she can barely navigate a vehicle on a good day," Deeks protested. "What about on a day after she was almost blown into itty bitty pieces?"

"Merely a scratch." Hetty waved her hand dismissively. "I see no reason for you or Mr. Hanna to accompany her home."

"Thank you, Hetty," Kensi said gratefully, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "See you boys tomorrow," she called, flashing them a smug smile as she walked out the door.

Deeks watched her go, his jaw falling open in shock.

As soon as Kensi was gone, Sam turned to Hetty in surprise. "Hetty, you know she's hurt. How could you let her—"

Hetty held up her hand. "Don't worry, gentlemen," she said reassuredly. "She's in good hands."

* * *

><p>Outside the hacienda, Kensi reached into her bag and frowned as she realized that her car keys were missing. She pawed deeper into the bag but didn't see them, and she glanced down at the ground in case she had dropped them.<p>

"You lose something?"

Kensi froze as she heard the jangle of keys behind her and the smooth voice that accompanied it. She didn't even have to turn around to imagine the smirk on his face.

"Callen, give me the keys."

"You mean these keys?" He dangled them over her shoulder, but she wasn't fast enough to grab them.

"Callen, I'm warning you..."

She intended to whirl around and face him, but as she started to turn, she almost doubled over in pain. She gritted her teeth and stifled a gasp, and it took her a moment to catch her breath.

And then Kensi felt her breath catch for an entirely different reason as Callen pinned her backwards against the car. Hesitantly, his lips found hers, and Kensi found herself melting into his kiss.

"Come on, Kenz," he murmured softly. "Let me take you home."

* * *

><p>Late that night, the hacienda was silent except for the quiet clicking of laptop keys coming from Hetty's office. The soft glow from the screen illuminated the little lady's face as she peered through her round black glasses at her report on the day's events.<p>

_U.S. Marine David Hunter was rescued from the explosion and currently remains at the hospital in stable condition_, she typed. _Special Agent Blye was injured in the blast but refused medical treatment. Special Agent Callen has agreed to monitor her status._

Hetty paused, her fingers hovering over the keys as if she were pondering another sentence to complete her report.

Finally, she shook her head, and the screen went black as she closed down her laptop. With a satisfied nod, Hetty reached for her coat and removed her bag from the hook, taking one last glance around the empty hacienda.

It was only the shadows of the night that heard her whisper the unwritten ending of the tale:

_"And they lived happily ever after."_


End file.
